LAKELAND, Fla.- Southeastern women's basketball dropped their first contest of the SEU Classic, falling 64-59 to receiving votes Montana Western University.
Southeastern ran into shooting struggles in the first quarter, going 4-15 (26.7%) from the field and 1-8 (12.5%) from three-point range. Bekki Kalaydjiev kept her team in the contest in the first quarter with 10 of their 12 points.
The Bulldogs shot 58% from the field in the first quarter to lead the Fire 21-12 after 10 minutes.
Southeastern began to find their stride in the second quarter, shooting 43% from the field. Kalaydjiev added seven more points in the second quarter to hold the Fire outscore the Bulldogs 15-14 in the second half but still found themselves trailing 35-27 into halftime.
Kassidy Jones recorded seven of her 14 points in the third quarter as the Fire would outscore the Bulldogs 16-13. The Fire began chipping away at the deficit in the third quarter as a Mya Herman layup with 5:11 on the clock brought the score to 39-37. Moving into the fourth quarter, the Fire trailed the Bulldogs 48-43.
The Bulldogs shot 50% from the field in the final period to extend their lead as they would go on to take the 64-59 win. The Fire managed to bring the deficit back down to four with just 1:!0 left to play but a missed opportunity for an offensive rebound with 23 seconds to play opened the door for the Bulldog win.
Kalaydjiev ended the night with 20 points and four assists while Anaya Coleman posted 16 points and three rebounds.
Rebecca Cook recorded a team-best 11 rebounds.
The Fire will be back in action tomorrow at 7 p.m. against John Brown University.
